Historic Day At Carver/Century And Molino Park
May 29, 2009
Today was a historic last day for North Escambia schools. Century will no longer has a public school, and Molino Park saw its first ever class of kindergarten students finish the fifth grade.
It was the last day the town of Century had public school. With the last bell at Carver/Century K-8 School today, the school was no more. It ended a legacy of Blackcat Pride that has included Century Elementary, Carver Middle and Century High School. A divided Escambia School Board voted 3-2 to close Carver/Century and consolidate it with Bratt Elementary and Ernest Ward Middle to save an estimated $600,000 per year.
Molino Park Elementary School opened in 2003, the product of the consolidation of Molino Elementary and Barrineau Park Elementary. The first class of kindergarten students at Molino Park in 2003 left the school today having finished fifth grade. Today’s graduating fifth graders were the first class to have attended Molino Park their entire school careers.
Complete photo coverage of the final bell at Carver/Century K-8 will be posted Saturday morning here on NorthEscambia.com.
Tax Collector Gone, Courts To Stay In Century
May 29, 2009
Thursday was the last day of business at the Escambia County Tax Collector’s office in Century, but the Clerk of the Courts says his office will remain open.
Earlier this month, both county officials said they were closing their offices in the Billy G. Ward Courthouse. After a public outcry and an Escambia County Commission resolution against the closings, Clerk of the Courts Ernie Lee Magaha announced that his office would remain open. But Tax Collector Jane Holley said that her office was still closing.
“It was a very difficult decision, and I mean that in a very heartfelt way,” Holley said, adding that Friday would be the first day in 32 years that there had not been a tax collector’s office in Century. “It is a decision I did not take very lightly, but it is something I had to do.”
Holley said her final decision to close her Century office was based upon needed budget cutbacks and low utilization, especially over the last three years.
The next nearest Escambia County Tax Collector office is in Cantonment, and Holley said she would monitor the traffic at that office to determine how many customers were coming from Century, Walnut Hill, McDavid and surrounding areas. She said she would not rule out reopening the Century office in the future.
“But for now, we feel that we can still take care of the citizens in the Century area,” she said.
Most tax collector business can be conducted by mail, on the phone or online, Holley said. Hunting and fishing licenses, vehicle tags and titles can even be purchased by Escambia County residents at the Santa Rosa County Tax Collector’s office in Jay.
Tax Collector Services
- Services as the Century branch of the Escambia County Tax Collector’s office have been redirected to the Cantonment branch, 470 South Highway 29. The Cantonment office offers all tax collector services including driver’s licenses by appointment.
- Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. Call 438-6500 ext. 252 for information and to schedule an appointment for a driver’s license.
- For more information including how to make payments online, visit the Tax Collector’s website, www.escambiataxcollector.com.
Confirmed Rabid Raccoon Found In North Escambia
May 29, 2009
A rabid raccoon has been found in North Escambia, prompting the Escambia County Health Department to urge caution among area residents.
The raccoon was shot and killed by a resident on Crabtree Church Road in Molino after it attacked his dog. That raccoon has been confirmed to have rabies, according to Ed Parent with the Escambia County Health Department. He did not know where on the 5-mile long Crabtree Church Road the incident occurred.
He said it is not believed that the raccoon had contact with any people other than the resident that shot it. The resident used gloves to handle the raccoon after it was dead, Parent said, and the raccoon did not infect the man. Additionally, Parent said there have been no reports of any animal bites in Escambia County at area hospitals during the past several weeks.
The dog bitten by the raccoon has been quarantined in a kennel and is being observed for any signs of the illness, but, so far, the health department said the dog appears to be fine.
“It is important that people stay away from raccoons,” Parent said. “They may or may not appear aggressive. You can’t just look at a raccoon and tell if it might be rabid by the way it acts.”
Anyone concerned about a raccoon on their property can call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission at (850) 265-3676. In the event of an emergency only, call (850) 245-7710. Anyone that finds a dead raccoon on their property should not touch the animal and should call one of the numbers immediately.
Tri-City Ledger, Atmore Advance Receive State Awards
May 29, 2009
Two area newspapers picked up multiple awards in the 2009 Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Contest.
The Tri-City Ledger in Flomaton received five awards in their circulation size division, and The Atmore Advance received 10 in their category. There were 2,917 entries from 76 newspapers in the contest.
The Tri-City Ledger was honored five times:
- Best Sports Page, third place
- Best Local News Coverage, second place
- Best Spot News Coverage, first place for “’We have to go now!’” by Joe Thomas & Janet Cooper (2/21/08)
- Best Editorial, second place for “Unacceptable” by Joe Thomas (8/7/08)
- Best Feature Photo, second place for “Picking out produce” by Janet Little Cooper (6/12/08)
The Atmore Advance was honored 10 times:
- Best Presswork, third place
- Best Lifestyle/Family Pages, third place
- Best Local Economic Coverage, third place
- Best Local Education Coverage, second place
- Best Business Story or Column, second place for “Reaching New Heights” by Adam Prestridge (10/8/08)
- Best Editorial, third place for “Hines, BOE operate in secret” by Adam Prestridge (4/2/08)
- Best Local Sports Column, first place for “A big Little League memory” by Adam Prestridge (4/13/08)
- Best News Photo, first place for “Marty’s takes a hit” by Adam Prestridge (4/20/08)
- Best News Photo, second place for “Pritchett to fill seat” by Adam Prestridge (1/20/08)
- Best Special Section, for “Horizons 2008” by staff (2/27/08)
The awards will be presented July 18 at APA’s 138th summer convention at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach.
FDLE Returns To Walnut Hill In Police Shooting Investigation
May 29, 2009
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement returned Thursday afternoon to the scene of a weekend shooting by the Atmore Police Department.
Danny Ray Williams, 33, died Monday from wounds he received when he was shot by Atmore Police early Sunday morning in Walnut Hill. Atmore Police say Williams was seen leaving the scene of a shots fired call in Atmore when they gave chase. That chase came to an end on Highway 97 just south of Kansas Road when officers fired on Williams’ car after they say he attempted to run over them.
Thursday afternoon, investigators from the FDLE were back at the scene. One investigator used a metal detector to search the area where Atmore Police said they fired the shots that led to Williams’ death, while another searched the grassy ditch and a portion of a wheat field. The location is just south of the spot where Williams’ car came to a stop in a muddy field.
Mike Morrison, spokesperson for FDLE, said that an investigation such as the one into Williams’ shooting can often take 45 to 60 days to complete. He said it was not unusual for investigators to return to a scene as they did Thursday afternoon in Walnut Hill. Once the FDLE investigation is complete, their findings will be turned over to the State Attorney’s Office for review.
To read an Atmore Police Department press release describing their version of the incident, click here.
To read the original NorthEscambia.com story about the incident from Sunday morning, click here.
To read about Williams’ court record and outstanding warrant, click here.
For an exclusive NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the scene, click here.
Pictured above: Thursday afternoon, FDLE investigators were back at the scene of an Atmore Police shooting along Highway 97. Behind the investigators, the spot where Danny Day Williams reportedly backed into the wheat field. Pictured below: Car tracks in the area where Atmore Police say Williams turned around and tried to run over two officers. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blog: A ‘Perfect’ 5, An Open Letter To Molino Park’s FCAT Best
May 29, 2009
It seems that a 5 is not always a 5.
Late last week, we ran a story entitled “Molino Park Student One Of Four In Escambia With Perfect FCAT Scores”. In that story we named Molino Park student Sarah Perritt as one of four students in all of Escambia County to score a “perfect 5″ on the reading and math third grade FCAT.
That story has created quite the uproar. Everyone in the Molino Park family is, as we are, very proud of Sarah. But it created a lot of confusion when letters went home to parents notifying them that their child too had score a 5 on both the reading and math FCAT.
That lead many a proud mom, dad and grandparents to contact us wondering why we did not name their child in the story.
The Escambia School District highlighted the fact that the four students had scored perfect on both the reading and math FCAT in a press release sent to the media. In most people’s minds, admittedly in our mind at first, that meant the students scored a 5 on both the reading and math FCATs. There is information available to us, to anyone, that will show you how many children scored a 5 on the reading and how many scored a 5 on the math. But nothing in the numbers made publicly available indicate how many of those scored the 5 on both. As it turns out, there are quite a few at Molino Park.
But a “perfect” score on the FCAT indicates that Sarah and the three other students in the county got each and every question correct in both subject areas. It is possible to miss some number of questions and not obtain a “perfect” score, but still receive a 5.
We would happily run the names of the students that scored a 5 at Molino Park and all the other schools that we cover, but schools are not allowed to release student FCAT scores.
We did want to clarify the story from last week and explain how the story came to be. We also want to offer our congratulations to the students that scored a 5 on the FCAT from any school, and offer our congratulations to each and every student that did their best on the FCAT, regardless of their score.
Molino Youth To Kick Off Summer
May 29, 2009
Youth in and around Molino will kick off summer in a big way after school today with Second Annual Summer Kick-Off.
The big event will be hosted by Impact Student Ministries, a ministry of Victory Assembly of God.
The Summer Kick-Off is open to all students sixth to 12th grade, and will be held from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.. There will be free food and live entertainment. There is no admission cost. Call (850) 587-2295 for more details or visit www.impactsm.net.
Elementary School FCAT Scores Released
May 28, 2009
Fourth and fifth grade FCAT score were released Thursday by the Florida Department of Education. The following details how each North Escambia school performed.
Numeric scores are based upon the percentage of students to score at grade level or above.
At Bratt Elementary School, fourth grade scores fell slightly from 84 to 83 percent in fourth grade reading, fell in fourth grade math from 93 to 84 and rose slightly in fourth grade writing from 85 to 87. Fifth grade reading improved slightly from 78 to 79, math improved from 73 to 77 and science scores improved from 60 to 63 percent.
At Byrneville Elementary, fourth grade scores in reading fell from 86 to 71 percent, fell in math from 75 to 74 and held steady in writing at 71 percent. Fifth grade reading improved from 73 to 76, fifth grade made improved from 60 to 83, and fifth grade science delined from 53 to 52 percent.
At Carver/Century, fourth grade reading scores fell from 35 to 24 percent, math increased from 17 to 38 and writing scores skyrocketed from 20 to 65. Fifth grade reading fell from 41 to 38, math fell from 19 to 12 percent, and science fell from 22 to just 6 percent at grade level.
At Molino Park, fourth grade reading scores fell from 79 to 75 percent, math improved from 73 to 75 and writing jumped from 75 to 86 percent. Fifth grade reading jumped from 64 to 70 percent, math went from 51 to 81, and science increased from 35 to 56 percent.
Escambia Deputies Conduct Drug Raids Across Century; 19 Are Arrested (Updated With Mug Shot Link)
May 28, 2009
(Updated 11:45 a.m.) The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department simultaneously executed 10 search warrants and made 19 felony drug arrests in Century Wednesday night and early Thursday morning using SWAT teams from across Northwest Florida.
For mug shots of each suspect and a list of their charges, click here.
The department’s narcotics unit, SWAT teams from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office, Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office, Pensacola Police Department and Crestview Police Department executed the 10 search warrants at addresses across Century. The roundup was the result of an ongoing undercover operation in Century, according to Lt. Eddie Barnard from the ECSO Narcotics Unit.
While executing the search warrants, officers recovered cash drugs paraphernalia, and drugs including marijuana and crack cocaine. Several vehicles were also seized.
Ted Roy, spokesperson for the Escambia Sheriff’s Office, said the investigations are ongoing and investigators were still on scene mid-morning Thursday. The arrests were the result of a several month long narcotics investigation, Roy said.
One of those arrested was Sonya Alexis Carter, 25, a corrections officer at Century Correctional Institution, Barnard said. She was arrested at a mobile home on Salters Lake Road.
For mug shots of each suspect and a list of their charges, click here.
Listed below are the locations where search warrants were executed and the names of those arrested at each location:
21 Ramar Street
- George Dubose, 39, black male
- Bobbie J. Elliott, 56, white female
- Mark Elliot, 33, black male (arrested in Flomaton)
- Willie M. Elliot, 61, black male
6760 Jefferson Avenue
- Eric Maurice Davidson, 34, black male
- Katherine C. Hawsey, 23, white female
- Kevin Deray Johnson, 27, black male
- Kevin Montfort, 27, white male
- Ashley Nicole Scott, 25, black female
- Randall Scott Thames, 57, white male
7551 Sellers Road
- Terrance Terrell Grice, 24, black male
280 Hilltop Road
- Lekicia Ann Manuel, 22, black female
- Nekinely Sonita Manuel, 20, black female
807 Salters Lake Road
- Johnnie Lee Carter, 27, black male
- Sonya Alexis Carter, 25, black female
Additional arrests were made at:
110 Ramar Street
- Christine Chnix Mixon, 32, black female
- David Lynell Williams, 25, black male
116 Ramar Street
- Bridget Dennise Brown, 24, black female
- Brenda Mixon, 49, black female
Additional search warrants were executed at:
50 West Pond Street
61 Green Street
9451 Old Flomaton Road #3
9441 Old Flomaton Road
280 Hill Top Road
7011 Hadley Street
More information on charges and mug shots will be posted later today.
Pictured above and inset: Officers arrested a Century Correctional Institution corrections officer at this home at 807 Salters Lake Road during a drug raid late Wednesday night: Pictured below: Some of the marijuana found Wednesday night as deputies executed search warrants across Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Century Drug Arrest Mug Shots, Charges Released
May 28, 2009
The following persons were arrested Wednesday night and Thursday morning in a drug operation in Century. Click to enlarge.
For the a complete story about the arrests, click here.
